Leo, the first US pope, criticizes nationalist politics at Sunday Mass
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader.
Leo, the first pope from the US, asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square that God would 'open borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred.'
'There is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,' said the pontiff.
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticizing US President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years.
The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope's ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost, and was deactivated after Leo's election.
Francis, pope for 12 years, was a sharp critic of Trump. The late pope said in January that the president's plan to deport millions of migrants in the US during his second term was a 'disgrace.'
Earlier, Francis said Trump was 'not Christian' because of his views on immigration.
'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,' Francis said when asked about Trump in 2016.
Leo was celebrating a Mass for Pentecost, one of the Church's most important holidays.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump's travel ban on 12 countries goes into effect early Monday
US President Donald Trump's order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from 'foreign terrorists.' The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The entry of people from seven other countries - Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - will be partially restricted. Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a 'large-scale presence of terrorists,' fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers' identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States. He cited last Sunday's incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban. The travel ban forms part of Trump's policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief. Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump's action. Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban. Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies. 'Trump's travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,' said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. 'People have a right to seek asylum.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russia Says its Troops Reach Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Region
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces reached Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region and continued their advance there. It also said that Russian troops captured the village of Zoria in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Moscow, which has the initiative on the battlefield, has repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire. At talks in Istanbul last week it demanded Kyiv pull troops back from the frontline, agree to end all Western arms support and give up on its ambitions to join the NATO military alliance. Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five Ukrainian regions over which Russia has asserted a formal territorial claim. It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy. Dnipropetrovosk was estimated to have a population of around three million people before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Leo, the first US pope, criticizes nationalist politics at Sunday Mass
Pope Leo criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader. Leo, the first pope from the US, asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square that God would 'open borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred.' 'There is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,' said the pontiff. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticizing US President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years. The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope's ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost, and was deactivated after Leo's election. Francis, pope for 12 years, was a sharp critic of Trump. The late pope said in January that the president's plan to deport millions of migrants in the US during his second term was a 'disgrace.' Earlier, Francis said Trump was 'not Christian' because of his views on immigration. 'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,' Francis said when asked about Trump in 2016. Leo was celebrating a Mass for Pentecost, one of the Church's most important holidays.
